Reunion
by FieryFestus
Summary: "He was twice as gorgeous as she remembered – tanner, and more muscular, his eyes even greener, his hair beautifully windswept and messy. He walked towards her, before jogging, and running, and slamming into her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Annabeth's eyes stung, and her throat closed up. She was so happy she didn't care." Percabeth reunion! PJO/HOO belongs to Mr. Riordan


Annabeth leaned over the bow of the ship, looking down to the crowd. She had a hand on the hilt of her dagger – things could go either way, and if they went bad, it would be _really_ bad.

She scanned the faces. Just a glimpse of him would be enough. Instead she saw families, parents. She suspected they were demigods, as much as it shocked her. The idea of her surviving past twenty, well, were slim. She knew that. But having a family... to her, that was unheard of. She suddenly felt a pang of guilt. The Argo II didn't exactly look friendly, and there were children down there, probably scared out their wits. She sighed. No going back now.

They stopped over the valley, and she looked down at the faces again. She needed to see him. She was desperate, even. Being without him was like missing the other half of her. Without him, it just wasn't right. She wasn't really Annabeth without Percy. Fear rose in her throat, threatening to choke her. What if he didn't remember her? What is he had found a beautiful Roman Girl instead of her? She shook her head, as if to shake away the thoughts, but they wouldn't go away. What if -?

Then she saw him, looking right up at her, his arms around a girl and a boy. Despite everything, Annabeth felt a spark of jealousy, before swallowing it down. She couldn't expect him not to have any friends. He stared at her for a while, and the fear expanded in her chest, ready to burst, before he smiled. That huge, dopey, trouble-maker grin that she had grown to love so much. The one she missed so much, her heart ached. She smiled back, unable to control it, so much the sides of her face hurt. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled that much. Heck, she hardly ever smiled anymore.

"Seaweed Brain." She mouthed.

He laughed. His shoulders rose and fell like he was having a fit, which made Annabeth laugh too. She was too far away to hear, but she longed to hear it again. She longed to be close enough to have his arms around her. To kiss him. She promised herself that she would make the most of every single second with him. She wasn't going to lose him. Not again.

She felt a hand on his shoulder. Piper, a small smile on her lips. She trusted Piper with everything. She reminded her of Silena, a little. She reluctantly took her eyes off Percy, and looked at her.

"You found him?" She asked. Annabeth nodded, the smile still there. Piper grinned. "Good. We're going down now. Jason's going down first, but you can go after him."

Annabeth thanked her, and followed Jason down the ladder. She didn't really trust him. He seemed too perfect, if that was possible. He always followed the rules. He was a perfectionist. She shook her head a little. He was her friend. She could trust him. She _had_ to trust him.

She jumped off the ladder with a thud, and searched the crowd. She couldn't see him from the ground, and she already missed him, again. She stood on her toes, looking around desperately, until she saw the crowd part. He stood there, not three metres away, looking at her. He was twice as gorgeous as she remembered – tanner, and more muscular, his eyes even greener, his hair beautifully windswept and messy. He walked towards her, before jogging, and running, and slamming into her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Annabeth's eyes stung, and her throat closed up. She was so happy she didn't care. He pulled away, and kissed her, Annabeth melted into it, her brain turning into cotton-wool. He pulled away, smiling. That beautiful half-smile. She didn't know what to say. There was too much to say. So she hugged him again, letting the tears fall into his purple cape.

"It's okay, Wise Girl." He muttered. "It's okay. We're together again."

Annabeth smiled into his chest. Together again. She looked up at him.

"You didn't forget me." She said, her voice cracking. Percy smiled, and wiped the tears away with his thumb.

He blushed a little.

"You're all I remembered." He mumbled, and then he smiled. "I can't believe I finally got you back."

Annabeth looked into his eyes, and kissed his cheek.

"I love you." She whispered. "I never told you, and then you were gone. I'm so-"

Percy smiled.

"Shhh." He said. "It's okay. I love you too."

He took her hand, and squeezed it. Annabeth blushed when she saw they had an audience. An audience of Roman demigods she didn't even know. She didn't let go of his hand.

Jason coughed, and then the attention was on him again. Percy let go of her hand, and wrapped and arm around her waist, kissing the side of her head. Annabeth didn't want him to let go.

"You'd love it here. I need to show you around." He said. "It's not home, but this place... it's incredible." He pointed at some families, "They're demigods. All of them. They can have a _normal_ life, Annabeth. Well," He smirked. "relatively normal. But I miss camp." He said, with a wistful sigh.

Annabeth smiled.

"We'll be back soon enough." She said. "Let's just get the quest over with, and the we can finally relax."

She looked down. She knew it wouldn't be quite as easy as that. Not at all. She looked up at the ship, and had a feeling that things were going to go badly wrong.


End file.
